Mangaluru: Empathizing with flood survivors Muslims observe Eid Al Adha as rain gives a break

coastaldigest.com web desk
August 12, 2019

Mangaluru, Aug 12: After pounding the district hard for almost a week, rain gave a respite to the coastal city of Mangaluru and surrounding areas today providing much relief to the people, especially the Muslims who observed Eid Al Adha, the festival of sacrifice with piety and religious fervor.

Locally known as Bakrid, the second major festival of Islamic calendar is celebrated to commemorate the sacrifices of Prophet Ibraheem or Abraham (pbuh). This global festival also marks the completion of Hajj, the last of the five pillars of Islam.

Glorifying the greatness of Allah, thousands of Muslims in and around Mangaluru, like other parts of the nation thronged the mosques and Eidgahs early in the day and offered Eid prayers. Hundreds of women and children too participated in prayers in some of the mosques.

However, celebrations were overshadowed by the sufferings of the people in flood-hit areas of Karnataka and nearby Kerala.

Most of the mosques contributed to the flood relief fund while offering special prayers for the flood victims and survivors who are languishing in relief camps.

In several villages across coastal belt of Karnataka, Muslims took out peaceful procession from their jurisdictional mosques to Eidgahs ahead of the prayers.

Donning new clothes, they visited houses of their relatives, where they were treated with special sweet dishes. Platters of a variety of delicious cuisines were prepared in Muslim households. Children dressed in festival attire added colour to the celebrations.

People wished Eid Mubarak and hugged each other as a large number of shutterbugs tried to capture the poignant scenes of the festival prayers and greetings. People of all age-groups were seen taking selfies with friends after exchanging greetings.

Clerics in their Eid sermons exhorted the believers to follow the ideals of Prophet Ibraheem (pbuh), who had sacrificed everting in life for the sake of God. They also urged the believers to generously contribute to the flood relief fund and help the needy.

Mangaluru Khazi Twaka Ahmed Musliyar, in his Eid sermon at Eidgah Masjid in the heart of the city, urged the Muslims to remain steadfast in adhering to their religion and reach out to the less fortunate people and flood survivors.

“A Muslim will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha with the fear of life after death and consequent readiness to sacrifice anything for the almighty. This festival upholds the human dignity. One cannot misuse this day for any frivolous activity”, he said.

In Mangaluru city alone around over two dozen mosques were open for Eid prayers. Thakqwa Masjid at Pumpwell, Noor Masjid at Hampankatta, Kudroli Juma Masjid, Juma Masjid adjacent to Sayyid Madani Dargah, Salsabeel Masjid in Ullal and Huda Masjid in Thokkottu among other mosques attracted large number of worshippers.

Meanwhile, police beefed up security in the areas where mosques are located, particularly in the city and communally sensitive places. Police constables were also seen keeping vigil in some of the mosques.

Comments

A.Rahman
 - 
Monday, 12 Aug 2019

May Almighty  Allah's  Blessing's Always Be With All Our Mangalorean And Our Tulunaad.

 

Eid Mubarak To One And All

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News Network
May 4,2020

Munbai/New Delhi, May 4: India expects bad debts at its banks could double after the coronavirus crisis brought the economy to a sudden halt, a senior government official and four top bankers said.

Indian banks are already grappling with 9.35 trillion rupees ($123 billion) of soured loans, which was equivalent to about 9.1% of their total assets at the end of September 2019.

"There is a considered view in the government that bank non-performing assets (NPAs) could double to 18-20% by the end of the fiscal year, as 20-25% of outstanding loans face a risk of default," the official with direct knowledge of the matter said.

A fresh surge in bad debt could hit credit growth and delay India's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

"These are unprecedented times and the way it's going we can expect banks to report double the amount of NPAs from what we've seen in earlier quarters," the finance head of a top public sector bank told Reuters.

The official and bankers declined to be named as they were not officially authorized to discuss the matter with media.

India's finance ministry declined to comment, while the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks' Association, the main industry body, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The Indian economy has ground to a standstill amid a 40-day nationwide lockdown to rein in the spread of coronavirus cases.

The lockdown has now been extended by a further two weeks, but the government has begun to ease some restrictions in districts that are relatively unscathed by the virus.

India has so far recorded nearly 40,000 cases of the coronavirus and more than 1,300 deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

'RIDING THE TIGER'

Bankers fear it is unlikely that the economy will fully open up before June or July, and loans, especially those to small- and medium-sized businesses which constitute nearly 20% of overall credit, may be among the worst affected.

This is because all 10 of India's largest cities fall in high-risk red zones, where restrictions will remain stringent.

A report by Axis Bank said that these red zones, which contribute significantly to India's economy, account for roughly 83% of the overall loans made by its banks as of December.

One of the sources, an executive director of a public sector bank, said that economic growth had been sluggish and risks had been heightened, even ahead of the coronavirus crisis.

"Now we have this Black Swan event which means without any meaningful government stimulus, the economy will be in tatters for several more quarters," he said.

McKinsey & Co last month forecast India's economy could contract by around 20% in the three months through June, if the lockdown was extended to mid-May, and growth in the fiscal year was likely to fall 2% to 3%.

Bankers say the only way to stem the steep rise in bad loans is if the RBI significantly relaxes bad asset recognition rules.

Banks have asked the central bank to allow all loans to be categorized as NPAs only after 180 days, which is double the current 90-day window.

"The lockdown is like riding the tiger, once we get off it we'll be in a difficult position," a senior private sector banker said.

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News Network
May 17,2020

New Delhi, May 17: Spelling out the government’s fourth tranche of initiatives towards achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced significant structural reforms in eight sectors of the economy — coal, minerals, defense production, aviation, power distribution in Union territories, space and atomic energy.

Addressing her fourth and the second-last press conference, Sitharaman said crucial sectors such as coal production and exploration, defence production and space would see an increased participation from private entities.

Coal sector:

In the realm of coal exploration, the government has decided to liberalise the entry norms for private entities, which would mean that any interested party could bid for a coal block and sell it in the open market. The minister said that the government would do away with all the eligibility conditions at the time of bidding for a coal block, except requiring an “upfront payment with a ceiling.”

Nearly 50 coal blocks would be offered to private players immediately, revealed Sitharaman.

She further said that Rs 50,000 crore would be spent by Centre in creating ‘coal evacuation’ infrastructure, which would expedite the transport of mined product to the destination.

Defence sector:

In defence production, Sitharaman revealed that the government would raise the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the sector from current 49 per cent to 74 per cent. Further, the government would also work towards corporatising the ordnance factory boards. “Corporatising doesn’t amount to privatization,” added Sitharaman.

In a bid to boost indigenous production of defence products and gave an impetus to Make in India, Sitharaman said that the government was in a process of notifying a list of weapons/platforms for an import ban with year-wise timelines.

These decisions would also help in reducing huge import bills, the finance minister said.

Privatisation of electricity:

In another announcement that could have an effect on electricity charges in the union territories, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday that power departments and utilities in all the centrally administered territories would be privatised.

Sitharaman said that the proposed move would lead to better service to consumers and improvement in operational and financial efficiency in distribution.

The finance minister said that decision was guided by 'sub-optimal' utilisation of performance of power distribution and supply'.

She said that the move to that effect would provide a model for emulation by other utilities across the country, in what could be an indicator of what's in the pipeline for utilities in other states as well.

Sitharaman said that the privation reform was in line with the tariff policy reforms and would help in enhancing consumer rights, promote industry and improve the overall sustainability of the sector.

Space sector:

Sitharaman also announced the opening up of the space exploration sector for private players. Till date, the government-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has held a monopoly on all activities concerning space exploration and satellite launches.

The Indian private sector will be a co-traveller in India's space sector journey, said Sitharaman, while announcing a series of structural reforms in eight crucial areas of the economy. The Union Finance Minister was addressing her fourth press conference in as many days, as a follow-up towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'atmanirbhar Bharat', which was spelled out in his video address on May 12.

Sitharaman said that the reforms in the space sector will provide a level-playing field for private companies in satellite launches and space-based services.

She said that the private sector would be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other assets to improve their capacities. Stating that the government would provide predictable policy and regulatory environment to private players, Sitharaman also disclosed that future projects for planetary exploration and outer space travel among others would be opened up for private entities.

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coastaldiget.com web desk
June 18,2020

Amidst heightened border tensions between Indian and China, senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's two year old tweet comparing his party with Communist Party of China started going viral. 

The tweet, dated 26 June, 2016 reads: "Communist Party of China & BJP have done numerous works in social field. This way, there is tremendous similarities between the two parties." (sic)

Twitterati dug up this tweet after over 20 Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh earlier this week.

Soon after Chouhan's tweet went viral, netizens took to the micro-blogging site and slammed BJP. One user said, "Interesting comment by Hindutva ITSELF to recognise how similar they are with China. No doubt. Both believe in Dragon Throne .... and brutal absolute control." Another user said, "No wonder the BJP & China both agree that PLA never crossed into Indian territory."

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